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My Fair Lazy: One Reality Television Addict's Attempt to Discover If Not Being A Dumb Ass Is the New Black, or, a Culture-Up Manifesto Hardcover – May 4, 2010

by Jen Lancaster (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 347 ratings
Goodreads Choice Award nominee
See all formats and editions
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It's a JENaissance! The New York Times bestselling author of Pretty in Plaid gets her culture on.

Readers have followed Jen Lancaster through job loss, sucky city living, weight loss attempts, and 1980s nostalgia. Now Jen chronicles her efforts to achieve cultural enlightenment, with some hilarious missteps and genuine moments of inspiration along the way. And she does so by any means necessary: reading canonical literature, viewing classic films, attending the opera, researching artisan cheeses, and even enrolling in etiquette classes to improve her social graces.

In Jen's corner is a crack team of experts, including Page Six socialites, gourmet chefs, an opera aficionado, and a master sommelier. She may discover that well-regarded, high-priced stinky cheese tastes exactly as bad as it smells, and that her love for Kraft American Singles is forever. But one thing's for certain: Eliza Doolittle's got nothing on Jen Lancaster-and failure is an option.

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  1. Print length
    384 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    NAL
  4. Publication date
    May 4, 2010
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    045122986X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0451229861
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Jen Lancaster and Dave Barry: Author One-on-One

The New York Times has pronounced Dave Barry "the funniest man in America." But of course that could have been on a slow news day when there wasn't much else fit to print. True, his bestselling collections of columns are legendary, but it is his wholly original books that reveal him as an American icon, like I'll Mature When I'm Dead. He wrote for Humor Hotel and Jen Lancaster eventually took over his nationally syndicated humor column. Read on to see Dave Barry's questions for Jen Lancaster, or turn the tables to see what he asked her.

Dave: Which has a higher IQ: gravel or the cast of Jersey Shore?

Jen: On the surface, gravel clearly seems to have the edge. Gravel’s managed to exist for thousands of years without ever once having started a bar fight when someone looked at its Ed Hardy T-shirt funny. However, after the episode where Pauly D. went swimming and emerged from under the water with every hair still firmly in place, I’m forced to declare Jersey Shore the winner. The kind of civil/chemical engineering it takes to hold that ’do in place is nothing short of genius.

Dave: What can we, as a nation, do about the Kardashians?

Jen: One word: caning.

Dave: Do you ever watch Dog the Bounty Hunter? If so, do you agree that he would be a really fun United States senator?

Jen: I love Dog and believe he’d be a fantastic senator. He’s clever, he’s efficient, he’s no-nonsense, and he’s not afraid to knock a few heads together if needed. He’s exactly what this country needs. Plus, I’d like Mr. Dog to Go to Washington if for no reason other than to see his wife dressed up like Jackie O while on the campaign trail. (The caveat is I’m from Illinois and most of our living governors are felons, so it’s possible my standards aren’t terribly high.)

Dave: How come women are so good at appearing to not be thinking about sex?

Jen: Because we’re the ones in charge of doling it out, so there’s no guesswork involved on our part. Ergo, we can think about more important stuff. Like handbags.

Dave: Like many men, I have four kinds of shoes: 1) black shoes, 2) brown shoes, 3) sneakers 4) backup sneakers. Do I need more? What should they be?

Jen: I reject the premise of this question because whereas most men own four pair of shoes, they own nine different kinds of hammers. Framing? Claw? Tack? Ball-peen? Any woman worth her salt knows that almost all household repairs can be accomplished with one of two tools—a butter knife or the heel of a loafer.

Dave: Do you think ketchup has to be kept in the refrigerator? Why?

Jen: Yes, but less for food safety concerns and more because we don’t want to damage the self-esteem of the other condiments. (Mayonnaise can be so self-conscious.)

Dave: Are cats malicious, or actually the spawn of Satan?

Jen: Um, cats are wonderful and loving little creatures who live to make us happy, and they only barf in our shoes and scratch the bejesus out of our new ottomans and trip us at the top of the stairs to demonstrate exactly how special we are to them. They are in no way, shape, or form evil, meaning they would never trap me and both of my dogs in my office, causing me to send out cryptic interview answers hoping desperately the reader will properly interpret them and SEND HELP.

(Photo of Dave Barry © Raul Ribiera/Miami Herald)
(Photo of Jen Lancaster © Jeremy Lawson)

From Publishers Weekly

After embarrassing herself in front of her idol Candace Bushnell, popular memoirist Lancaster (Such a Pretty Fat, Bitter is the New Black) decides she needs more in her life than reality TV and hamburgers; to that end, she sets out on an Eliza Doolittle-esque project of cultural self-improvement to expand her knowledge of art, fine dining, and all the attendant trappings of "high class" life. Lancaster's latest will no doubt appeal to fans of her blog and her other books, but readers unfamiliar with her strident manner will have to get past her abrasive, initially judgmental façade; she puts on a proud display of her ignorance that can be off-putting, especially when couched in her excessively scattered writing style. Though she's unquestionably funny and comfortable in her own skin, for all the joking self-regard there's little actual exploration, and the analysis of what she does find doesn't go far beyond a sassy thumbs-up or thumbs-down.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ NAL; 1st edition (May 4, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 045122986X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0451229861
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.35 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 347 ratings

About the author

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Jen Lancaster

Jen Lancaster

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Jen Lancaster is a New York Times bestselling author who has sold well over a million books. From Bitter Is the New Black to The Tao of Martha, Jen has made a career out of documenting her attempts to shape up, grow up, and have it all - sometimes with disastrous results. Her NYT bestselling novel Here I Go Again received three starred reviews (Kirkus, Booklist, Publishers Weekly). Her memoir I Regret Nothing was named an Amazon Best Book of the Year, and she's regularly a finalist in the Goodreads Choice Awards. She loves bad TV, terrible wine, and will die before she gives up her Oxford comma.

Jen can often be seen on The Today Show, as well as CBS This Morning, Fox News, NPR All Things Considered, among others. She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and her many ill-behaved dogs and cats. Visit her website: jenlancaster.com, Twitter: @altgeldshrugged, Instagram: @jennsylvania, or Facebook.com/authorjenlancaster.

Hear the stories behind Jen's books on The Stories We'd Tell in Bars podcast, available on iTunes, Podbean, Spreaker, GooglePlay, and iHeartRadio, among other entities.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
347 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

K. Macumber
5.0 out of 5 stars By far, this is Jen's best book
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2010
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I was excited about Jen Lancaster's new book. I couldn't WAIT for it to be released. I have to admit, it started a little slow for me but by the end, I hated for it to be over. As far as I'm concerned, this is Jen Lancaster's best book ever. It's a hilarious, witty, sarcastic story of a woman who admits she's not the most cultured she feels she should be and sets about to see if that's because she doesn't have the capacity to be or just simply doesn't want to be. I think what she found is that it's a little bit of both. I related to this book because like Jen, I'm 40, married, no human children (by choice) with lots of fuzzy children of the dog and cat variety. I honestly thought I was the only 40 year old, college educated woman who couldn't help but say (either in my head or actually out loud), "that's what she said" at every possible moment. All in all, this is a great book, a good read that I couldn't put down. I look forward to Jen's first foray into fiction and I have no doubt it will be just as good as her latest book.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Get ready for a Jenaissance!
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2010
Verified Purchase
Jen Lancaster is back and snarkier than ever with her latest book, "My Fair Lazy." In this memoir, Jen chronicles her desire to kick her reality TV habit and become a more cultured and well-rounded individual. She attempts to do this by exploring many of the wonderful and diverse opportunities the city of Chicago has to offer, from theatre to dance to ethnic cuisine. As she progresses through this latest challenge, Jen learns that there really is more to life than "Survivor" and "The Real World," but it's okay to be true to yourselves and take pleasure in the things you enjoy, even if those things aren't super erudite.

I love Jen Lancaster and her sassy mouth, and this book is super hilarious. Being a Chicagoan myself, I enjoyed reading about Jen's adventures in my hometown and recalling my personal experiences at some of the places she visited. This chick is funny and is also very inspiring. Having read her previous four books as well, it's obvious to me how much she really has grown as a person since her "Bitter is the New Black" days, and I am eager to see what she has in store for us next.
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Literary Marie
4.0 out of 5 stars Queen of Snark & Her Fair Lazy
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2010
Verified Purchase
My Fair Lazy is one reality television addict's attempt to discover if not being a dumb ass is the new black, or a culture-up manifesto. Simply put, it is Jen's fifth memoir guaranteed to make you LIRL (laugh in real life).

The book begins with Jen being interviewed by Candace Bushnell, author of Sex and the City. Jen was holding her own in the interview until Candace brought up a Baudelaire. Jen has no idea whatsoever what it is. Matter of fact, there are other things that Jen realizes she has yet to experience. This sparks her to broaden her horizons and see the world through her own eyes instead of through reality TV shows.

This? Right here? Is a hilarious read. The stories range from different food quests to the opera. No matter your age, you will enjoy this memoir. Be sure to read and pick up the previous four too.

I can't wait until her sixth memoir and see what other funny situations Jen finds herself in. Until then, I'll continue reading the queen of snark's blog: [...]

L. Marie
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Stephanie Kern
3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not as funny as previous ones.
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2010
Verified Purchase
I do love Jen and I have read all her books and I did enjoy this one much more than I enjoyed her previous book, Pretty in Plaid.

This book was good, but still lacked some greatness of her previous books. I enjoyed it and found it humorous at times, but definitely lacked the laugh out loud funniness that her previous ones had(BLBA, BITNB, SAPF).

This book centers around Jen trying to "culture up" as she spends much of her time watching reality television. I found the concept to be so promising I was sure this would be absolutely hysterical.

My problem with this book mostly relies in the fact that it takes a long time to get towards her even pursuing her "Jenissance". While I do feel it moves in a linear direction, it felt like it had a few detours along the way. My biggest problem however is the fact that I DO follow Jen on her blog and on twitter so some of the material in this book felt a little recycled from Twitter and her blog, just longer. While it wasn't much, it still felt a little annoying in the sense that I had already read a form of it before.

The book, overall, was a good, fun, summer read that I read quickly. It had some humorous moments and it was a good way to spend a rainy Saturday.
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Angela Risner The Sassy Orange
5.0 out of 5 stars A gentler, kinder Jen - but still hilarious!
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2010
Verified Purchase
I'm a huge Jen Lancaster fan. I read her blog and I have read all of her books. I look forward to her new book each year.

This book is about her addiction to reality TV and her quest to expand her horizons. She takes in plays, concerts, art exhibits and tries food from all over the world.

But don't worry; in the end she's still our wonderful Jen, saying some of the wrong things here and there but in an endearingly hilarious way. I love it when she is at a snooty party and is able to show that a lot of people there are aware of reality TV and even watch it.

She does become a kinder, gentler version of herself. Some readers may be disappointed by this. But if you read her blog, you will see that she is still the same person.

Her conversations with Fletch are still hilarious. I would love to just sit and listen to them someday.

I had hoped to meet Jen at one of her book signings, but the rules of the store stipulated that you had to buy the book at that store and show your receipt to even get into line. Not a good thing for Kindle girl.
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Top reviews from other countries

Doris Ward
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent on all acounts!
Reviewed in Canada on June 20, 2012
Verified Purchase
Jen Lancaster has won me over! I have read all of her books and literally cannot put them down, I read them in 2 days or less and refuse to part with her books. Typically I donate or lend my books to other people but not her books, they are keepers. I laugh out loud while reading them and love her unique writing style and her no-filter fun personality. I would recommend all of her books and visiting her website.
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Pamela Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars My Fair Lazy
Reviewed in Canada on January 31, 2013
Verified Purchase
It is a lot of fun to read. I have read all of Jen Lancaster's books and enjoyed every one.
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